Cincinnati's Win Streak Ends in Upset Fashion
The Cincinnati Bearcats have been the most silent top-10 team all season long, but they reached the headlines in an unfortunate way on Thursday night. Corey Davis Jr. and Devin Davis scored 16 points apiece as the Houston Cougars took down the fifth-ranked Bearcats, 67-62. The win is the 20th of the season for the Cougars, as they improved to 10-3 in conference play with their second win of the season over a top 10 team. The other came back on January 20th when they took down then No. 7 Wichita State. It is the first time they've defeated two top-10 teams in a season since 1984, when they beat four of them en route to reaching the National Championship Game. Rob Gray added 13 points on Thursday for Houston, while Armoni Brooks finished with 12 to help hand the Bearcats their first conference loss of the year. Cincinnati had four players finish in double figures, led by Jacob Evans' 16 points. Despite that, they only shot 39 percent from the floor on the night. They did get off to a fast start and led 13-2 and 19-6, but were outscored 18-8 by halftime. The Bearcats will be in a ranked matchup come Sunday when they play host to No. 19 Wichita State. The Cougars will hit the road that same day to take on Temple.
Purdue Drops Third Straight Game
The Purdue Boilermakers have quickly gone from a potential top seed in the NCAA Tournament to the team in the top 10 struggling the most as of late. That continued on Thursday when they dropped their third straight game, 57-53, on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers. Ethan Happ led the attack for the Badgers with 21 points and 12 rebounds in what was their biggest win of the season. That big victory comes on the same day that they retired the jersey of Frank Kamisnky, who led the Badgers to the National Championship Game in 2015. They did fall to the Tyus Jones-led Duke Blue Devils. The Boilermakers did attempt a comeback late on Thursday, but Carsen Edwards missed on a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to seal another loss. Edwards did finish with 22 points to lead the Boilermakers, who led by seven after a 10-0 run halfway through the second half of the game. The rest would be all Badgers, who will stay home to host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Monday night. The Boilermakers will play host to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday.
Penn State Blows Past Ohio State
Speaking of those Penn State Nittany Lions, we stay in the Big Ten with the third top-10 upset that took place on Thursday night. Tony Carr scored 30 points to lead the Nittany Lions in a 79-56 rout of the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The win is their second straight over the Buckeyes, as Carr had a game-winning buzzer-beater in Columbus on January 25th. The Nittany Lions have won six of their past seven overall, and have won four in a row in Big Ten play for the first time since the 2008-2009 season. The Buckeyes were led by C.J. Jackson's 13 points, as they were held to their lowest-scoring game of the season and saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. Penn State used a 12-0 first-half run to help them lead, 45-21, at halftime, and they would never look back, leading by as many as 30 in the second half. Mike Watkins finished with his tenth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Penn State, who will take on the Boilermakers on Sunday, looking for consecutive wins over ranked teams for the first time since 2011. The Buckeyes will hope to bounce back when they visit the 22nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
The Cincinnati Bearcats have been the most silent top-10 team all season long, but they reached the headlines in an unfortunate way on Thursday night. Corey Davis Jr. and Devin Davis scored 16 points apiece as the Houston Cougars took down the fifth-ranked Bearcats, 67-62. The win is the 20th of the season for the Cougars, as they improved to 10-3 in conference play with their second win of the season over a top 10 team. The other came back on January 20th when they took down then No. 7 Wichita State. It is the first time they've defeated two top-10 teams in a season since 1984, when they beat four of them en route to reaching the National Championship Game. Rob Gray added 13 points on Thursday for Houston, while Armoni Brooks finished with 12 to help hand the Bearcats their first conference loss of the year. Cincinnati had four players finish in double figures, led by Jacob Evans' 16 points. Despite that, they only shot 39 percent from the floor on the night. They did get off to a fast start and led 13-2 and 19-6, but were outscored 18-8 by halftime. The Bearcats will be in a ranked matchup come Sunday when they play host to No. 19 Wichita State. The Cougars will hit the road that same day to take on Temple.
Purdue Drops Third Straight Game
The Purdue Boilermakers have quickly gone from a potential top seed in the NCAA Tournament to the team in the top 10 struggling the most as of late. That continued on Thursday when they dropped their third straight game, 57-53, on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers. Ethan Happ led the attack for the Badgers with 21 points and 12 rebounds in what was their biggest win of the season. That big victory comes on the same day that they retired the jersey of Frank Kamisnky, who led the Badgers to the National Championship Game in 2015. They did fall to the Tyus Jones-led Duke Blue Devils. The Boilermakers did attempt a comeback late on Thursday, but Carsen Edwards missed on a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to seal another loss. Edwards did finish with 22 points to lead the Boilermakers, who led by seven after a 10-0 run halfway through the second half of the game. The rest would be all Badgers, who will stay home to host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Monday night. The Boilermakers will play host to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday.
Penn State Blows Past Ohio State
Speaking of those Penn State Nittany Lions, we stay in the Big Ten with the third top-10 upset that took place on Thursday night. Tony Carr scored 30 points to lead the Nittany Lions in a 79-56 rout of the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The win is their second straight over the Buckeyes, as Carr had a game-winning buzzer-beater in Columbus on January 25th. The Nittany Lions have won six of their past seven overall, and have won four in a row in Big Ten play for the first time since the 2008-2009 season. The Buckeyes were led by C.J. Jackson's 13 points, as they were held to their lowest-scoring game of the season and saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. Penn State used a 12-0 first-half run to help them lead, 45-21, at halftime, and they would never look back, leading by as many as 30 in the second half. Mike Watkins finished with his tenth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Penn State, who will take on the Boilermakers on Sunday, looking for consecutive wins over ranked teams for the first time since 2011. The Buckeyes will hope to bounce back when they visit the 22nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines.